Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks star in The Better Sister, a new limited series streaming on Prime Video. In the eight-episode show based on Alafair Burke’s novel of the same name, the two play estranged sisters, Chloe and Nicky, who are forced to reunite and confront buried family secrets after the shocking murder of Chloe’s husband, Adam.
The first episode introduces us to the characters, the world, and the brutal murder that sets everything in motion. We get a glimpse into Chloe’s seemingly perfect life, her successful career, her teenage son Ethan, and her marriage to Adam, before it’s all shattered by tragedy. We're then introduced to Nicky, who reenters Chloe's life and shakes things up.
Below, we shared a breakdown of what all goes down in the premiere of the thriller series. So, now is your chance to exit this article if you don't want to be spoiled.
Major spoilers ahead from The Better Sister episode 1!
Chloe finds Adam's dead body
The first episode opens with Chloe at an event, wishing others goodbye as she leaves. She arrives at her house, grabs a couple of grapes from the fridge, and walks towards a window. She then turns around and notices a white vase turned on its side. As she goes to pick it up, she feels something wet on her foot and raises it to find that she's stepped in blood. She follows the trail of blood and finds her husband, Adam, lying on the floor in his own pool of blood. He's been stabbed to death! Chloe calls the ambulance immediately, who then tell her to wait outside until they arrive. As she runs outside, she trips over the pebbles on the ground.
The episode then flashes back to three days earlier. Ethan arrives at Chloe's job, which is a popular magazine called "The Real Thing." Chloe works as Editor-in-Chief of the magazine and is also a bestselling author. Ethan finds his mom in a meeting with her team, but once she notices him, she wraps the meeting up and tells everyone that she'll see them later that night for an event.
Chloe arrives at what is soon revealed to be her own event. She walks the red carpet alongside the magazine's publisher, Catherine Lancaster, before the two make their way inside. As Chloe mingles with guests, Catherine chats with Bill, Adam’s boss, about Adam’s absence. We find out that Adam is a lawyer, and Chloe explains that he’s running late because he’s tied up with a client, Gentry Group. Shortly after, we’re introduced to Adam’s colleague, Jake. Adam then arrives.
After the successful event, Chloe and Adam finally return home. Chloe reminds him that they have one more function to attend the following day before things slow down, Catherine’s summer soiree. Adam responds that he’ll meet her there, as he has a meeting with the Gentry Group before they leave for London.
The next morning, Chloe scrolls through the internet to see the buzz around her event, only to stumble upon some harsh and disrespectful comments directed at her. Things take a disturbing turn when she discovers a post that reveals her home address, leaving her visibly shaken. She then heads downstairs to the lobby of her luxury penthouse and speaks with one of the deskpeople, Arty. After Arty gives her a package sent by a mysterious person, Chloe thanks him for assisting her in taking Ethan to the beach later that night.
While sitting in her car, Chloe opens the package and discovers an explicit DVD, its cover crudely altered with a cut-out photo of her face pasted onto it. Along with the DVD is a note that threatens to harm her if she doesn't stop talking about women and essential work. Someone isn't happy about her event from the other night and has retaliated by sending her a chilling message. Chloe informs Adam about the package, and he then tells her that he won't be able to attend Catherine's event later on that day.
At Catherine’s summer soiree, Chloe is seen wearing the same white dress from earlier in the episode, signaling that we've arrived at the day of Adam’s murder. Now, we get a play-by-play account of what happened. After making her rounds and chatting with guests, Chloe leaves the party in her BMW SUV. But on the way home, she suspects someone might be following her and pulls over to the side of the road.
Meanwhile, Ethan is seen walking away from the beach after hanging out with his drug dealer friend, Kevin. After arriving at her house, Chloe grabs her keys, phone, and pocket knife out of her car and heads inside. Shortly after, we see her run outside with a now bloody white dress, carrying the pocket knife in her hand that is now bloody as well. As she runs, she trips and falls on the ground.
The episode then cuts to Chloe at the police station speaking to Detectives Guidry and Bowen about what happened. During the questioning, a flashback is shown to when Chloe pulled over to the side of the road. After texting Catherine on her real phone about the event, she reaches into her jacket pocket and takes out a burner phone. She texts an unknown number, "Are you there?" before putting the phone back in her jacket's pocket.
The flashback ends, and during police questioning, Chloe comes to the realization that whoever killed Adam was likely after her. She thinks it's all related to the threats she's been receiving. However, the detectives tell her that it's too soon to know if that's true. After taking elimination samples and photos, Chloe is taken to Kevin's house by Guidry and Bowen to pick up Ethan and inform him of Adam's death.
They then arrive back at the crime scene, aka Chloe and Adam's summer house, where a bunch of cops are still combing through evidence, securing the area, and documenting every detail. While no one is watching, Chloe quietly slips into her car and retrieves her jacket. She then walks to a nearby beach, pulls out the burner phone from her pocket, removes the battery, and buries it in the sand. Moments later, she tosses the phone itself into a nearby trash can. Meanwhile, Guidry and Bowen look over the crime scene. While initially thinking it could've been a home burglary gone wrong, Guidry changes her mind after looking around the house, which has furniture tossed everywhere. She tells Bowen that she thinks everything was staged.
Catherine arrives at the house and comforts Chloe before telling her that she and the magazine must prepare a statement from her regarding Adam's death before speculation sets in. Their conversation is cut short when Guidry steps outside and asks Chloe to come back into the house. It’s also during this moment that a significant revelation is made. Chloe isn’t Ethan’s biological mother. Her estranged sister, Nicky, is. And before Chloe, it was Nicky who was with Adam. Since Nicky is Ethan's legal guardian and he's a minor, the police must call her. The episode then changes settings to Cleveland, Ohio, where Nicky resides. Nicky struggles with addiction, and it's after she takes a couple of pills that she receives a call from the police about Adam's death and Ethan.
It looks like the prime suspect in Adam's death is Ethan
Back at Chloe and Adam's summer house, the police take elimination samples from Ethan. Ethan then takes Guidry up to his bedroom to see if any of his valuables were taken, while Chloe takes Bowen to her car to retrieve the explicit DVD for him. While looking over the room, Guidry notices that Ethan has a fresh scratch on his arm. Meanwhile, Chloe notices the bloody pocket knife under her car after handing over the DVD to Bowen. She quickly picks it up and throws it into her glove compartment. Bowen later informs Chloe that they called Nicky, who is on her way to New York. After learning this, Chloe decides to take Ethan back with her to their penthouse in the city.
Then, there's a flashback to many years ago to one of Ethan's earlier birthday parties. During the party, Nicky finds out about Chloe and Adam being together. This was the last time she visited New York. Back in the present, Chloe and Ethan arrive at their penthouse. While Chloe decides to take a shower, Ethan runs to the nearby deli to grab them something to eat. After finishing her shower, Chloe hears a knock at the door and finds Nicky standing on her doorstep. Ethan arrives shortly after, and he and Nicky have a sweet yet awkward reunion. Chloe allows Nicky to stay the night but tells her that she will put her in a hotel the next day.
We're then taken to Kevin's house, where Guidry and Bowen question Kevin about Ethan's whereabouts at the time of Adam's murder. Kevin explains that he and Ethan hung out at the beach before he had to leave to do a drug deal. That means Ethan could've been anywhere at the time. He doesn't have an alibi. As Guidry and Bowen leave Kevin's house, they receive a call from the lab telling them that Ethan's DNA was found under Adam's fingernails, making him the prime suspect in his murder. The last scene of the episode shows both Chloe and Nicky smoking on different sections of the penthouse balcony.
You can stream all eight episodes of The Better Sister on Prime Video right now.